One Eventfull Hike
by L.C. Vinear
Summary: Chapter 12!!! Woot!! Didnt take forever to write!! Woot! Words for the wise...Rocks and Heads do not mix.
1. The Beggining of the Madness!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any LOTR characters and such (this facts makes me very sad) but I DO own Kat. Please don't sue, all you'll get are two fish and *rummages around a bow under her bed* and this moldy piece of candy……yick. PLEASE review (even if you hated it and want it to burn in hell.)!!! NOW! ONTO THE STORY! It looked a lot longer on paper…  
  
  
  
Katarine stepped off the path that she and her friends had been hiking on all morning. She was confident that no one would notice as she left to do some of her own exploration of the hillside. Kat (as her friends called her) suspected that her absence would most likely go unnoticed for some time. When the group finally realized that she was gone, she would have rejoined them at the back of the pack.  
  
So off she went, reaching into her bag for her sketch book as different things caught her attention. She paused here and there, quickly sketching flowers and wildlife, steadily retreating farther and farther from the trial.  
  
Kat had just gotten up from sketching a beautiful patch of blue asters when she heard distant voices calling her name. She looked down at her watch hurriedly.  
  
"Oh Shit!" she cried, shoving her sketch book into her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She had been gone for hours! She thought she had left them around 9 in the morning and it was now a quarter past 3. Kat started back for the trial as the voices drew nearer. Misplacing her foot, Kat slipped on a moss covered rock, and went hurtling down the hillside with a startled cry. Rolling off the edge of a small rise, Kat was launched into the air and began to fall. To her she seemed to be falling for an usual amount of time. Then she thought that the rise must have been really far from the ground and she was now plummeting to her death. Not a pleasant or comforting thought in her opinion. Then she landed, not with a splat onto hard ground, but with a thud onto something soft and somewhat squishy.  
  
Kat lay there for a moment, her eyes squeezed shut. Then, as something moved beneath her, she opened one, very carefully. Something else prodded her in the side, which made her yelp and jump. She stood up and looked down onto what she had landed on. It at first resembled a small heap of arms, legs, hands, and furry feet. Then a head of brown hair could be seen, and then another, and yet another! A fourth head of black hair emerged, and the rest of the bodies began to sort them selves out amid grumbles, groans, and some colorful cursing.  
  
One of the short, waist high things turned to her with a curious look.  
  
"Who are you?" It asked Kat in wonder. She just starred at it, thinking she knew it from somewhere. Another of the things turned tom the first.  
  
"Who's that Pip?" it asked.  
  
"I don't know Merry! I've just met her!" One Pippin Took said to on Merry Brandybuck.  
  
"Well so have the rest of us! She fell on us just now!" Merry cried, raising his arms in exasperation. Realization hit Kat like a brick hitting pavement after being dropped from a tall building.  
  
"Oh holy blue hell monkeys, I've been dropped into Lord of The Rings!" she said, staring at the four hobbits in front of her (two of which were arguing about how you would know someone if they fell on you or not), and fainted dead away. The hobbits looked at her in surprise.  
  
"Now that was unexpected." Pippin said, stating the obvious. 


	2. The Madness and Mayhem Continue!

Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own LOTR, which saddens me, and I still own Kat. If you sue me you will STILL get no money and the moldy piece of candy. Which is nasty. You don't want it. So don't sue me.  
  
"What did you do to her!?" Merry cried, rounding on Pippin, who shrugged and looked down at Kat's prone figure with frantic eyes. Frodo told Sam to go get Aragorn, who was a small ways up the path. Sam returned moments later with Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli, who all circled around the strange looking girl.  
  
"Who is this?" asked Aragorn, looking down at Kat.  
  
"We don't know. She just fell on us out of thin air!" said Merry.  
  
"That's right! We had nothing to do with it this time!" Pippin added hurriedly. Boromir and Gimli shot him suspicious glances.  
  
"Look! She's coming round." Legolas exclaimed as Kat groaned and opened one eye, and then two with surprise. Sitting up, she looked around as they all watched her, Legolas and Boromir crouching to eye level. *I must be dreaming!* Kat thought as everyone continued to stare at her. She reached out a slightly shaking hand and touched the tip of Legolas' pointed ear. It felt very real, to her surprise, and Kat withdrew her hand quickly with a small gasp and the elf regarded her with a puzzled and bewildered expression. *He's...he's...an elf!! Elves aren't real! This has to be a dream* she thought, but something told her differently.  
  
Still not convinced, she reached out again and patted Boromir's face a few times, her hand warming with the contact with his skin, but he drew away quickly, taking his warmth with him.  
  
"Are you all right, milady?" Boromir asked, keeping a safe distance between himself and Kat, raising an eyebrow in the process. His face was wearing the same bewildered expression that was on Legolas face but there was just a tinsy hint of concern.  
  
"I.... I don't know. Would you mind telling me who you all are?" Kat asked them, still believing she was in a dream.  
  
"Well, I am Aragorn son of Arathorn," replied the ranger, then gesturing to the others he said "this is Legolas Greenleaf the prince of Mirkwood, that is Boromir of Gondor, and he is Gimli son of Gloin." He left the hobbits to introduce themselves, which they did with various bows and nods.  
  
"Tap dancing penguins on crack! You mean to tell me that you are all REAL?!" Kat cried, jumping up excitedly, no longer caring if she was dreaming or not. She was with the Fellowship! She had thought they were all just characters in a book, as had many other readers. They were in a fantasy book, so how could they be real? The company backed away from her a few paces and looked at each other with worry as well as alarm.  
  
"I think the girl landed on her head and lost it. Completely lost it." Gimli commented softly. Frodo nodded in agreement, his wide eyes becoming wider.  
  
"What's a penguin?" Merry asked, everyone ignored him.  
  
"No she hasn't! Look!" Pippin cried, eager to show the girl was perfectly sane, and proceeded to try to jump and wave his hand in her face at the same time. He only succeeded in poking Kat in the eye. This didn't seem to prove her sanity was intact to anyone.  
  
"OW! Get your hand out of my face, please." Kat said placing one hand on the hobbit, who looked as if he was going to make another attempt at proving her sanity, and the other hand over her stinging eye. Another realization then hit her. When your dreaming you don't feel pain, correct? So if she felt pain when Pippin accidentally poked her in the eye, then she couldn't be dreaming. Therefore Kat came to the following conclusion:  
  
"You are real! HOLY MONKEYS!" she gasped, almost falling over once again. They all continued to look at her like she was insane, which she probably was. Kat looked around at the small, lush green clearing with wonder. She was in Middle Earth! With the Fellowship! If she was dreaming it was one of the best damn dreams she'd ever had.  
  
"Yes...we are 'real'" Aragorn ventured cautiously. "Who, may I ask, are you?" he asked, deciding it was the right time to change the subject.  
  
"Me? I'm Katarine, well Kat. Where are we? And where's Gandalf?" Kat asked, noticing that the wizard was nowhere to be found. The company was hushed and the air became thick and tense. Everyone avoided each others eyes for a short while. Kat thought she heard one of the hobbits sniffle. Aragorn cleared his throat.  
  
"We are on our way to the Golden Wood. Gandalf...is no longer with us." He said rather thickly, looking at the ground.  
  
"Oh." She said, feeling saddened herself, knowing what had happened to Gandalf, but choosing a poor time to have a lapse of memory. "Uh...... I'm sorry," she said as another sniffle escaped Pippin, whom the wizards downfall had struck a deep blow. "and sorry for landing on you." She said as an afterthought, perhaps trying to lighten the now dreary mood.  
  
"That's quite all right. You didn't mean to fall on us, I expect. Not that you had much control over it." Sam replied. A small scuffle broke out between Merry and Pippin after Pippin decided to blow his nose on Merry's shirt. Kat watched them, pushing and shoving at each other, very amused, but no one else seemed to pay them any mind.  
  
"Where do you fare from, Lady Katarine?" asked Boromir, who was still keeping his distance from her.  
  
"Uh....where do I fare from, you ask? I fare from.....Massachusetts." Kat ventured, receiving blank looks, which didn't surprise her.  
  
"I have never heard of that land before. Where is it?" Legolas asked, seemingly suspicious.  
  
"Its.....over that way." Kat said, gesturing vaguely in the direction from which Aragorn and the rest had appeared. Legolas narrowed his eyes at her.  
  
"Where over there, exactly?" he asked, crossing his arms and sitting on a rock, his suspicion growing.  
  
"On the other side of....of Mordor." Kat said, and then mentally kicked herself as soon as the dark name came out.  
  
"She's a spy!" Gimli yelled, pointing an accusing finger at her. Kat looked up sharply, startled at the acquisition, her mouth gaping. Legolas quickly sprang from his rock and twisted both of Kat's arms behind her, while she found herself at the end of two VERY sharp swords being wielded by an angry, mistrusting Boromir and Aragorn.  
  
"Search her bag." Aragorn instructed Gimli and the hobbits coldly, his sword pressed to Kat's throat. Kat looked at him with half pleading, half defiant eyes. She looked out of the corner of her eye as her bag was upturned onto the ground, and its contents rummaged through.  
  
"Are you a spy?" the now stern, grim ranger asked Kat when nothing had been produced from a search of her bag.  
  
"No!" she growled with as must hate as she could muster, which wasn't much at the moment.  
  
"Then what are you?" Legolas demanded, twisting her arms just enough to cause her to wince.  
  
"I'm a...a traveler!" she said with a bit of quick thinking that she hoped would not cause her anymore trouble. Aragorn watched her awhile longer and then glanced at Boromir, who shrugged his broad shoulders. Aragorn removed his sword from her neck leaving it unsheathed, but Boromir's sword remained where it was. Aragorn looked at her with a mixture of mistrust and wonder.  
  
"How did you get here?" he asked after a few moments.  
  
" I walked, you know, the usual way people get places." Kat replied fridgedly. Legolas jerked painfully on her arms, causing her to cry out sharply.  
  
"Show some respect girl." The elf reprimanded her sharply. Kat just scowled at anything in her line of vision. This happened to be everyone but Legolas, the one she wanted to scowl at the most. She felt something trickle slowly down her neck.  
  
"Damn it! I'm bleeding aren't I?" Kat said angrily, suspecting that the jerk from the elven prince combined with a fairly sharp sword at her throat, would result in the sword cutting into her neck.  
  
"This is true, but besides the point. You're not dying, so that cut is irrelevant." Blunt and to the point, Aragorn in a nutshell. "Why are you here?" he asked, his cold gray eyes boring into hers.  
  
"If you lived on the border of Mordor right now, would you want to be there? I didn't, so I left. Seeking greener pastures I suppose. Anything else?" Kat replied, her voice stony. Aragorn seemed to have seen the logic in this, and brooded over it.  
  
"Let her go Legolas. I do not believe she is a danger to us." He told the elf, who released her arms reluctantly, he still didn't seem to trust her, not a lot of people would if you seemed to have dropped out of the sky. "Lets get going, we do not have time to be wasting here." Aragorn said, turning toward the way they had come.  
  
"Hey! Don't leave me here! I have no knowledge of this land, I'd get lost within minutes, and its not exactly fair to leave when you just dumped all my stuff all over the ground!" Kat said, a bit more calm after her arms were released, plus, she wasn't leaving the fellowship until she was good and ready.  
  
"She is right, you know." Said Boromir quietly. Everyone turned in surprise to look at the broad man for a moment. Aragorn looked at him, almost grinned, and then regarded Kat once more.  
  
"You cannot be serious!" Legolas cried in anguish from behind her, seeing that the heir of Isildur was actually seriously thinking about bringing the strange girl with them. "We cant be wasting time looking after some useless wench!" He yelled, exasperated, throwing up his hands.  
  
"WENCH?! Listen you pompous bastard, I am not a wench, and I am certainly not useless. Who knows, maybe I'll turn out to be very useful, who are you to know? Do you have a crystal ball, swami?! How dare you! You-- " Kat yelled, turning to face the tall elf.  
  
"Enough!" yelled Aragorn forcefully as Legolas was about to yell something in response. Though no one saw it, Boromir was grinning ever so slightly. "You can come with us, but Legolas has a valid point. The very second you prove to need looking after like a newborn babe, you will be left to fend for yourself. Understood?" Kat nodded indignantly, feeling like a scolded child, and gave Legolas a look of pure, unbridled hatred. The elf returned the look with a glare so cold that it could freeze boiling water. Brushing past her, the elf followed Aragorn as he started down the path once again. Gimli followed the elf and the hobbits ( who were looking a bit confused, but also amused) followed the dwarf. Kat grumbled as she was left to pack her bag again, storming around, shoving things into her bag without really noticing them. Soon she was in such a state of rage at Legolas' rudeness, that she did not notice a soft chuckle as her things began to be handed to her.  
  
"What a bastard! Thank you!" she finished ranting as her sketch book was handed to her. Looking around to see if she had anything else to pick up, she closed her bag with an angry tug and click. Kat then realized that she was not alone in the small clearing, and that Boromir was standing there, arms crossed over his broad chest, leaning against the same rock Legolas had occupied minutes before, grinning slightly. Kat looked at the ground and fiddled with a button on her shirt, blushing a bit.  
  
"You are welcome, Lady Katarine." He said, almost cheerfully, still amused.  
  
"Just call me Kat. That's what my friends do." She said, still looking at the ground.  
  
"All right, you are welcome, Kat. I suppose we must be on our way before the others decide to leave us behind." Boromir grinned and stood, while Kat swung her bag over her shoulder once more, causing her to overbalance and almost topple over. But Boromir was there and caught her arm, righting her again. The same warmth that Kat had felt radiating from Boromir earlier was coming through his glove to Kat's arm, but again he broke contact with her quickly. He looked puzzled for a moment, then cleared his throat and walked off to find the others. *What an odd guy.* Kat thought to herself as she followed a little ways behind, the thought that the rest of them were probably thinking almost the same thing about her crossing her mind. For the rest of the days march through the woods and country side, Kat could not get the thought of Boromir's hand on her arm out of her mind. He actually seemed to like her, although he was still a bit wary.  
  
She shook her head and tried to get the thought of Boromir out of her mind, but couldn't and felt a pang of sadness when she remembered what happened to the green eyed man in the end. *Don't be silly, Kat. He's a glory and power hungry man that's going to die. Its no use to falling for him! You've gone through enough pain and he would only make it even worse.* she chastised herself mentally. Sighing Kat trudged onward. 


	3. Slightly less Maddness

Disclaimer: Man I'm sick of writing these! I don't own LOTR (but I still wish I did, of course.) and I own Kat. There. Oh yeah, if you sue me you wont even get a moldy piece of candy, cause my nasty little brother ate it. So you'll get nothing. Therefore, don't sue me! NOW ONWARD THROUGH THE FOG!! Er...just read, its better not to ask questions.  
  
The day went on while the Fellowship, plus one human girl, trudged onwards toward Lothlorien. It was some hours after Kat had joined the group that Aragorn called for a halt in the days march. They found a clearing under the boughs of tall inviting tree's and began making camp. Kat, having nothing else to do, decided that she would climb one of the tree's and do some sketching. Anyway, it would probably be better if she was out of everyone's way. Tucking her sketch book and a pencil into one of the cargo pockets of her shorts and walked to the trunk of the tallest tree. Reaching up she was just about to hoist herself onto the lowest branch, when the voice she least wanted to hear shouted: "Girl, Kat, whatever your name is! Go help the hobbits collect some firewood. Unless that's too hard for you to handle." It was Legolas, Kat thought, since the rest of them would probably just tell her to get the wood excluding the insult/challenge. I cant believe I worshipped this guy! Gods! She thought to herself, before turning around.  
  
"Its wood, its not that big of a deal, elf boy." Kat sneered, glaring at him. Those who had stayed in the clearing to make camp, mainly everyone but the hobbits, stopped to watch the elf and the girl. Aragorn hoped not to have the two at each others throats.  
  
"Then if it isn't so difficult, get to it!" Legolas cried, spinning around and going back to helping Gimli. Everyone abruptly went back to their various tasks.  
  
Bristling with renewed anger, Kat stomped off into the woods, her sketching having to wait for a bit longer. Grumbling, she stormed around, piling as many logs and twigs into her arms as possible. Striding back towards camp, her anger started to subside. When Kat got there, a small pile of wood was already there, so she just added what was in her arms to it. Straightening again, Kat wiped the back of her hand across her brow. She heard a snort from across the clearing and looked up. Low and behold there was her least favorite elf, with a snide smile plastered onto his face.  
  
"Gathering wood proving to be to much for you?" he drawled, crossing his arms and leaning against a tree.  
  
"Of course not! That was just for your benefit. HA! So there!!" Kat said quickly, turning on her heel and going back for another load of wood, actually quite pleased with herself. (Kat was in fact getting very odd looks from everyone.) She began to pile logs into her arms once again, when something poked her side.  
  
"Kat? Hullo Kat?" said something from beside her. Kat whirled around and came waist to face with two of the hobbits.  
  
"Hi Merry. Hi Pip." She said after a moment. The two hobbits smiled and then stooped to grab a couple twigs.  
  
"What's Massachusetts like?" Pip asked after a moment of silence. His curiosity always won over silence.  
  
"Well, it's nice, except in the winter. Cause it snows, it snows a lot. I hate snow! And it's small. That's probably why no ones ever heard of it. Why do you ask?" Kat replied as they walked along, picking up wood along the way.  
  
"Just wondering." Pippin said, continuing to pick up odd bits of wood.  
  
"What's a penguin?" Merry asked suddenly, unwilling to let his question from earlier in the day go unanswered. Kat burst out laughing.  
  
"A penguin? Well it's a bird, but it cant fly. It looks like its wearing a tux....wait, do you know what a tux is?" she asked. The hobbits shook there head. "Oh well, nevermind then. It swims instead of flying." Kat replied, still smiling.  
  
"Do you miss your friends?" Pippin asked, picking up a rock and tossing it into the underbrush.  
  
"Of course. I'll miss them terribly if I can't get back to them, that's for sure." Kat said after a moment, the hobbits thinking that Kat was only concerned with the trip back past Mordor, not about a trip into another world.  
  
"What are they like? Are you married to any of them?" Merry asked excitedly, causing Kat to almost fall over from laughing so hard. It took her a minute to answer, the thought of why a hobbit would care about her being married causing her to start laughing all over again. She took a deep breath and wiped a tear from her eye, leaving a smudge of dirt on her cheek.  
  
"NO! I'm not married to any of them! HA! What a thought! Anyway, my friends are an odd bunch. There's one guy, Conrad, he would love to be here right now! We're always arguing about where I can find an elf and if I've actually seen one or not." Kat said, almost laughing at some of the arguments she and Conrad had.  
  
"There all over! Legolas for one! He's the one that yelled at you and then you yelled at him and then..." Pippin said, almost indignant, but then getting lost trying to remember what had happened after Kat and Legolas had started yelling at each other. This was before they had stopped for camp, when the elf had tried to get rid of her by telling her about everything she would have to do. Things like cook, and clean, which was pointless since they had Sam to cook for them and cleaning was out of the question. Kat was no house wife, or maid, which she had pointed of to Legolas. Even if it was in raised tones.  
  
"Where I come from, not many people believe in elves anymore. That's why Conrad thinks I'm insane when I say I've seen one. What I would give to see his face if he saw Legolas!" Kat snickered evilly for a bit and the hobbits looked at each other with concern. That would be the one time that Legolas would make her happy.  
  
"Uh... is there anyone else besides this Conrad fellow?" Merry ventured, taking the sticks and bits of woods that Pippin piled into his arms.  
  
"There's Adalm, he's a good guy. Westy is quite odd, but I love him to bits anyway. Staman's a monkey, or likes to think he is. Carlin is the water polo queen. Jen thinks she's a chicken. Then there are all the other people, both normal and odd balls." Kat said, grinning.  
  
"What's a monkey?" Pippin asked.  
  
"What's water polo?" asked Merry, peering over the ever growing pile of wood in his arms, a split second later.  
  
"I'll show you a picture when we're finished here. Water polo is, apparently, some sport, played in water where you try and knock a ball into the other teams net, as far as I can tell, that is." Kat said, straining to reach one last stick and not drop the wood she was holding.  
  
"That doesn't sound very hard." Merry mused.  
  
"Its complicated, or so I'm told. I'm just going to take Carlin's word for it." Kat grunted, grabbing the stick and straightening triumphantly.  
  
"I cant carry anymore wood! Lets go back to camp! I want to see what monkey looks like!" Pippin cried excitedly and started to caper comically towards the clearing. Merry ran after him, trying to see over the wood that Pippin had ever so helpfully piled above the taller hobbits head. Kat grinned at their antics, finding that she liked the two more than she had when she read the books. Their curiosity was apparently unquenchable, which Kat liked. She put her other arm under her own load of wood and jogged after the two swift hobbits. Hobbits were fast when the mood struck them, which it had.  
  
When Kat got back to camp, the hobbits were watching as Aragorn and Boromir tried, unsuccessfully, to start a fire. It wasn't going to well for the ranger, for whom everyone would expect it would be a mere matter of seconds. Such was not the case. Aragorn was being extremely patient, *No surprise there.* Kat thought, although Boromir was acting human, and looked rather aggravated. Sam and Frodo were watching for a small ways away. Gimli was sitting by a tree, smoking his pipe, and snorting at the two men every once in awhile. Legolas was nowhere in sight, which Kat was thankful for.  
  
"Show us what a monkey looks like!" Pippin cried once Kat had dropped her burden on the wood pile. Sam and Frodo gave each other a worried look. It was very a good thing when Pippin got this excited.  
  
"All right! Calm down!" Kat said, laughing, and pulling her sketch book from her shorts pocket, along with a pencil, and plopped down at the base of her tree (her bag was there at any rate). Grabbing her water bottle, she squirted some into her mouth, gulping it down with a satisfied 'ah!', and wiping her mouth with her sleeve afterward.  
  
"Now to get down to business." Kat said, opening the book and finding a blank page as Merry and Pippin watched over her shoulder. Taking her pencil she began to doodle cartoon monkeys in a tree, one sitting on a branch and another hanging upside down. Then she drew the three hear, speak, and see no evil monkeys under the tree ((A/N: The ones that cover their eyes, mouths, and ears! You know what I'm talking about!)). A flying monkey appeared in the top corner of the page, causing Merry to ask what is was, to which Kat explained as the minions of an evil witch from a story in her land.  
  
"So those are monkeys?" Pippin said. Kat nodded. "I like them!" he exclaimed, causing Kat to let out a short laugh. Aragorn and Boromir, had finally gotten the fire to blaze, Sam was now busily going about making them some dinner. Out of the tree above her, Legolas dropped to the ground in front of Kat. He gave Kat a look of contempt, then strode over to Aragorn. The elf looked very annoyed and started making gestures at Kat, who watched the two with curiosity and amusement. No doubt that Legolas' lasted attempted to drive her from the fellowship wasn't working was vexing him to no end, and he was now trying to get Aragorn to discard her.  
  
"Dinners Ready!!" Sam cried happily and the hobbits scrambled over to him before anyone else had a chance to look up. Aragorn placed a hand on the elf's shoulder, said something, and walked over to the fire to get something to eat. Kat could almost see the fires of hatred burning in Legolas' eyes when he turned to glare at her. She smiled sweetly, waved, and went to get herself some dinner. 


	4. The Maddness Begins Anew!

Authors Note: Oh dear!! I haven't added a chapter in some time!! VERY VERY SORRY!! I'll try to post more regularly, forgive my powers of procrastination!  
  
Disclaimer: The usual! Don't own anything but my character, still wont get anything if you sue so save you're self the trouble and just don't.  
  
It was after dinner. Thanks to Sam, Kat was full, since the hobbit had insisted on giving her portion after portion. *Oh well, it makes up for missing lunch I suppose.* Kat thought. Everyone was now sitting around the nicely blazing fire, talking or smoking, Kat sketching people every once and awhile. Legolas threw her a loathing glance at various intervals in conversations, usually when she asked a question. She always returned the look with one of her own equally unpleasant one's. "I think it is time for us to rest." Said Aragorn, taking a long lazy puff on his pipe. *Hard to imagine Aragorn doing anything lazily* Kat observed. "I'll take first watch, then Gimli, Legolas, Boromir and then the hobbits." Aragorn continued, getting up and going over to his pack. "I can take a watch!" Kat said, since she thought that she could and she didn't want to give Legolas something else to sneer at her about. Aragorn regarded her for a moment, as she put her pencil into her sketch book and put it into her pocket. "Very well then, you can have the watch after Boromir." He said. "If you think you can handle it, that is. A watch is something important and not to be taken lightly, in case you didn't know." Added Legolas insultingly. "Of course I can handle it, pointy ears! You're getting rather good at throwing insults, but you might want to stop before you're head starts to hurt." Kat said in mock sweetness. One of the hobbits chuckled. They were starting to like Legolas's and Kat's small insult bouts. "Alright, that's enough! Everyone get some rest." Aragorn said before Legolas could respond. "Aw, he stopped it before it got any good!" muttered Pippin to Merry, who nodded in agreement. They frowned, then went to their bed rolls and instantly fell asleep. They were soon followed by Sam and Frodo. When Gimli and Boromir fell asleep they snored loudly enough to wake the dead. When Kat dropped off, she vaguely heard Legolas snoring softly, which Kat took as a sign that he was, in fact, asleep, and that he apparently slept with his eyes open. Aragorn had taken up his watch on the trunk of a fallen log, facing away from the fire, so she assumed that would be where everyone else would be sitting as well. She finally dropped off to sleep after wrapping herself in another shirt and a sweat shirt, cursing the fact she had neglected to wear pants on the hike. *Oh well, I'll just have to deal with it. Lothlorien is bound to be warmer." She thought before she dropped off to sleep.  
  
Boromir was on watch. Nothing had happened all night, which wasn't surprising, since nothing usually happens. So Boromir was pondering things, things like 'How will this quest end?', 'What will happen in Lothlorien?', and 'My face is very, very cold right now.' Sighing and rubbing his face to get some warmth back into it, Boromir turned to face the fire. He stared at it for awhile, but jerked around when a twig snapped a short distance away from him. He was expecting some orc to have followed them, but found only Kat turning in her sleep. He watched her amount, just to be sure there was nothing there he assured himself, and noticed she was shivering slightly. *Poor girl, she's not dressed properly for a journey such as this.* he thought. In a fleeting moment of caring, Boromir unclasped his cloak and walked over to Kat, draping it carefully over her. Coming to his senses once the cold hit him, he almost took the cloak back, but Kat had already wrapped it around her and was sleeping peacefully under it. A slight drowsy smile played about her lips. *Oh well, to late now. I'll get it back when I wake her for her watch.* He thought as he sat back down on the fallen tree, rubbing his arms to keep away the brisk weather.  
  
Someone was shaking her Kat registered sleepily. "What? Who? Meh?" she groaned sleepily, blinking and rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Tis time for you're watch, Lady Kat." Said a voice somewhere above her. "It's just Kat, not Lady Kat." She replied as she pushed the cloak off her. That woke her up. *Cloak? Where did this come from?* Her weary, 'just woken up don't push it' brain wondered. She sat up, yawned and opened her eyes to see Boromir, looking rather cold, next to her. He was missing his cloak, she observed. "Would you like you're cloak back?" she asked, none to tack-fully. Boromir blushed and said something to the effect that he didn't want her to be cold on watch and she should wake the hobbits up when the fire's embers were almost out, and went back to where he had been sleeping before his watch. *Very odd guy.* Kat thought as she wrapped the warm cloak around her and sitting on the fallen tree, peering intently into the darkness. *Odd in a likable way though.* she observed, staring around the clearing, looking for unseen things behind tree's. The more she stared, the more tired she got, which she knew wasn't a good thing. The monotone snoring behind her didn't help either. Usually snoring would keep her awake, but for some reason, it was making her very sleepy. *That's odd.I thought I just saw..something...move.* thought Kat, right before her head drooped forward. She was awoken seconds later when something growled in front of her. Kats eye's snapped open and saw things moving around her. *oh crap!* she thought, seconds before she fell backwards off the log. "Ow!!!" she cried as she hit the ground, but decided to take advantage of this and half ran half crawled over to the nearest body, which thankfully happened to be Aragorn. She shook him hard and found herself at the end of a knife. *That's three times in one day! A new personal record for being held a knife point!* she thought sarcastically. "Uh, hi there, we have a slight problem at the moment." And that was all she got out before the arrow thudded into the tree between their heads. "Uh, yeah, that's the problem." She finished with a worried grin. Aragorn's eye's flashed at the arrow in the tree and then back at Kat. "Orcs, go wake the others, quickly!" He said before he scurried away. "Not a problem." Kat muttered as she went onto the next body. Soon everyone was up and the orcs were swarming the camp. Kat didn't know which end was up, only knew that she had her bag to unskillfully fend off orcs with. "What fun!" Kat said to herself as she tried to dodge orcs as much as possible, but mostly turning herself around in circles trying to stay out of the others ways. "I'm just so damn useful!!" she said to herself as her bag slammed into the stomach of some foul orc. Suddenly, from somewhere, someone shouted "Run!! This way!!" and Kat whirled around in three different directions, trying to find who had yelled. Then she was scooped over someone's shoulder. She was glad to see it wasn't an orcs shoulder, since they were all chasing whoever was carrying her. "This is no time to gawk, this is the time that you run." Said Boromir's voice coming from the head attached to the shoulder she was perched on. "As I can see from those who are chasing us!" Kat said, deciding she would rather not see if the orcs were gaining on the Fellowship or not and closing her eye's, clinging tightly to Boromir's shoulder. After some turn's and what felt like hop's Kat opened her eyes to the ground rushing below her. Then Boromir stopped and put her on the ground. "We have evaded the orcs for the moment, but not for long. Come quickly, before we lose the others." Said Boromir before he took off through the trees, Kat following as quickly as she could behind him. Morning was not yet near and the company slowed its pace as it entered a forest of unusually big tree's that seemed to give off a light of their own. Kat looked around her as she walked; bewildered by the wood they were in. When she stopped looking at the tree tops an arrow appeared in front of her, seemingly trained on her head. An elf was at the other end. "You are in the Golden Wood without leave. What are you doing here?" said the elf in front of Aragorn in a disgusted manner. *He and Legolas will get along wonderfully!* thought Kat as Aragorn held a brief conversation with him. "You will be taken to the Lady of the Wood, but you will rest in the trees for now. You will all have to be blindfolded before we take you though, for our own safety." The elf said. *He seems not too concerned with our safety though.* Kat thought again, as Gimli, Legolas and the elf held a very heated argument that Kat decided not to listen to. Soon they were in the trees, safe for the moment, as orcs passed below them. Despite that fact, Kat fell asleep, worn out despite her lack of physical effort to anything, Boromirs cloak still wrapped around her. 


	5. The Maddness of Falling Out of a Tree

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, don't own nothing but me character. If you sue you might get the "One Ring" my friend got me, but I'm not giving it up without a fight!! *Evil glare* ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL! Ahem...right...you can go read now.  
  
Kat was awoken by raised voices the next tree over. "Wah? S'matter?" she asked, rubbing her knuckle into her eye after a lengthy yawn. "Shh!!! Legolas and Aragorn are fighting!!! It's even better than when you and Legolas fight!!" Pippin said, from a tree branch above her. "What? Why?" Kat asked, mentally kick starting her brain into gear. "Well.ah hem, funny thing that." Said Merry from his perch next to Pippin. "They're fighting about you!" Pippin blurted out before Merry could clamp a hand over his mouth. "What?!" Kat exclaimed, throwing Boromir's cape off her and scurrying along the tree branch to hear better. "Shove over!" she said to Merry and Pippin, who hazarded out along the branch a bit further. Kat strained her ears as much as possible and caught this on the wind: "She has failed us Aragorn, it is time she were turned away!" (Legolas of course.) "She did not do it with a purposeful harm to anyone, Legolas. She merely nodded off for a few moments and awoke in time to warm us of the danger." (Aragorn.) "No, what she did was fail to keep awake on watch! Something that if anyone of us had done we would have been thoroughly reprimanded." "She is not one of us! She is not from our lands, our people. She doesn't seem to have any type of training, at all. We would have reprimanded each other, because we know better, we have been trained not to fall asleep on watch, to be alert at all times." "And since she hasn't she is a danger to us and to the quest! I say she should be left on her own this very morning." (Legolas had logic to his argument.) "And I say she stays." (Aragorn was the leader after all.) "There is no reason for her to stay! Or do you share Boromir's affections toward her?" "I share no affection towards the girl. It is the same with Boromir. We are all focused on this quest and nothing will sway that focus. She stays because there is something telling me she will be of use yet." "Say what you will, but of Boromir's affection's you observe little." Kat leaned farther out of the tree, trying to listen, since the two had finished arguing and gone to gossiping, in a manly fashion of course. *Imagine that, Aragorn and Legolas, gossips!* Kat thought to herself, continuing to lean. "Uh, Kat? You're pushing us out of the tree. Kat? Kat?!" Merry yelped as he began to fall. Kat snapped out of her revere in time to grab his arm before he toppled to the ground. "Sorry Merry! I didn't even realize I was pushing you two." She said a bit absently, still straining to hear the conversation. The two were had changed the topic, talking about how they were going to break the fact to Gimli that he would have to be blind folded to walk through the Golden Wood. Sighing, Kat retreated, backwards, down the tree branch, which in her case was not a very clever thing. Losing her balance, Kat fell to the side of the branch, yet still managing to keep her arms wrapped around it. "Oh, now this isn't good." Kat said to herself in a muffled voice. The ground was a considerable ways down and, despite how much she tried, she couldn't seem to swing her legs around the branch again. "Kat? What are you doing?" Pippin asked, looking at her from another branch. "Just hanging around, Pip. It's a very relaxing thing when you do it right, which I'm not, so don't try it!" She added hurriedly as she saw Pippin eagerly grip the branch he was on. Pippin looked rather unsatisfied, but settled for watching Kat struggle. "Oh for the love of! What is that stupid girl doing hanging from a tree branch?" said a very annoyed voice behind Kat. She was far to concerned with the prospect of not hanging from the tree branch to even venture a retort to Legolas's comment. "She's 'hanging around', she says! But she also say's she's not doing it right, and not to try it." Pippin explained to the elf. "Hanging indeed, it's just a pity she's not hanging from her neck instead!" Legolas said, rather loudly, making sure Kat heard it. Kat continued to struggle in vain to get her legs around the branch, which she had almost done.once. "That's enough, Legolas. Kat? Are you alright?" Aragorns voice called from behind her. "Oh yes! I'm fine! Don't worry about me!!" Kat said, struggling even more to get back onto the branch, seeing no reason to give Legolas any more evidence that she was unsuited for the quest, which she really wasn't, but that sure wasn't going to stop her from going! "I think you need some help. Just drop down when I say so and someone will catch you." Aragorn instructed. "No! Really!! I can get back on the branch!" Kat said hurriedly, not liking the term "drop" very much. "Can you? Then why don't you show us! Hopefully you'll drop and no one will be there to catch you!" Legolas sang out joyfully. "Alright.show you, sure! No problem." She muttered to herself as she redoubled her efforts to get back on the branch as Legolas burst out laughing behind her. Then the worst possible thing that could happen, happened. Her grip on the tree began to slip. Try as she might, Kat couldn't get her grip back. "Oh shit." She said; seconds before what little grip she had on the branch gave way. She had been too concentrated on the branch to notice anything going on around her. So Kat was under the impression she had a one way ticket to two broken legs. Letting out a small cry and shutting her eyes tightly, and waited to except the ground as gracefully as any clumsy, falling girl could. She let out a cry seconds later, all grace lost, when she landed into someone's waiting arms.  
  
When Kat realized all her bones were unbroken, and that she was not a heap on the ground she opened her eye's cautiously, one after the other. To her relief, as well as her embarrassment, Boromir had caught her in his waiting arms. "Uh, um, thanks?" she ventured, before Legolas voice yelled out: "Why don't you just kiss and get it over with! Do us all a favor!" before he was hushed by an angry Aragorn. Boromir and Kat both turned red, Boromir setting Kat on the ground, mumbling something and walking away, with Kat shuffling the other way. Legolas was howling with laughter in the tree above her, which Kat tried her best to ignore. "It's almost time to go. Get you're things ready." Aragorn called over Legolas's laughing, to the world in general. Kat scurried up the tree carefully, grabbed her stuff, folded up Boromir's cloak and asked Merry to return it to him, which he did with a vast amount of energy. When Kat got back on the ground, Gimli's predicament about wearing a blindfold had been resolved by the entire Company having to wear blind folds, which wasn't that bad, Kat knew they would have plenty of time to explore the Golden Wood later, which she planned on taking full advantage of. Haldir led them through the forest, until they finally stopped and were un-blind folded to sights beyond Kat's most imaginative dreams. 


	6. I am NOT wearing that!

Disclaimer: These are getting worse and worse every time I write one! Don't own many things that I would dearly wish to own, own one character, and you'll get...some silly putty if you sue. You don't want that, its a messy toy (not that that's always a bad thing) and its...*gasp* PINK!!  
  
Kat squinted in the sunlight, but looked around her as her eyes began to adjust. There were houses and halls of extraordinary beauty connected to the tree's and elves walked about them, so high in the air that Kat's neck began to hurt when she tried to see the tree tops. "Come, the Lady is waiting." Haldir said as the Company began moving again. Many of the elves they passed stopped to stare at them as they passed, making Kat feel as if she were on display to them. They were lead through countless passages and up numerous flights of stairs, Kat wanting at all times to just break free and explore, but knew that in doing so she would be slain in an instant. *I forgot to add being held at arrow point to my list! So that two swords, one knife, and one bow and arrow! Not bad I must say.* Kat thought to herself, beginning to enjoy the quests smaller dangers. After awhile, they were brought to something that resembled a throne room. *I wonder what Galadriel and Celebron will have to say about me...hopefully nothing.* Kat thought as the pair descended the steps laying before the fellowship. Kat's mind began to wander as Celebron launched into his lengthy and dull speech about welcoming them all to the wood and so on. She glanced around, noticing that all the structures on the tree's also had the other-worldly light that the trees possessed. "Welcome Stranger, though you know not of why you are here, I perceive you will have you're use yet, and that great happiness awaits you when you return home." Said a voice in Kat's head, startling her slightly. *Great!! My own personal fortune cookie!* she thought to herself. "What is this fortune cookie you speak of? We will have to talk more, but latter. You will all rest now, and there will be a feast in you're honor tonight! Go, you will all be taken care of." The voice of Galadriel said to her, this time not in her head, which startled Kat even more. Everyone was staring at her of course, since they had no idea what a fortune cookie was either. Kat stared at the floor, fiddling furiously with the button on her sleeve from embarrassment. An elven women appeared at her side, and escorted her away from the rest of the company as the company was lead away to their own quarters.  
  
Kat was lead to a room that was really made up of a tent like cloth staked above the visible roots of one of the giant tree's. It was the most beautiful room that Kat had ever seen, and she loved it at once. Dropping her stuff at the cloth door, she rushed in and sat on something that resembled a giant, comfy looking chair, only it was part of the trees root. It was extremely comfortable, so much that Kat didn't want to get up. "Excuse me, milady, but perhaps you would like to bathe before the feast?" said the elf who had shown her to her 'room'. "Please, just call me Kat, I'm not used to this 'my lady' thing. How about you? What's your name?" "Ellora, mi..Kat." Ellora said in response. "Hello Ellora! Nice to meet you! Now what's this you said about a bath?" Kat said as they walked out of the tent like room. Ellora lead Kat to a pool a few tree roots away, and told her that it was a hot springs, pleasing Kat to no end. Ellora left, but promised to be back with some fresh clothes for the feast and to tell Kat all about Lothlorien. Kat pilled her clothes on side of the slightly bubbling pool and stepped in, presuming the pool was only a foot or so deep. Much to her surprise, no bottom met her foot and Kat overbalanced, sinking into a pool full of water that went over her head a good two feet. Breaking the surface of the water, Kat whipped her short hair out of her face and eyes. "Oh this is great!! I want one of these!" Kat said to herself as she swam to the other end of the pool.  
  
Feeling a great deal better after a soak in the pool, Kat swam to where she had put her clothes, but they weren't there. Instead, in place of her old clothes was a red dress. Now, the dress itself wasn't that bad, and the color was very nice, but the fact that is was a DRESS was what destroyed anything appealing about it. Standing there, dripping, Kat was not a happy person. There was no way she was wearing a dress, absolutely no way. Except one, which was the sound of someone advancing towards the pool. Looking around quickly, Kat grabbed the dress and threw it on, then walked quickly the way she had come, only to turn back again. Of all people, Boromir had decided to take a bath and was heading towards the pool, his shirt utucked and undone, revealing more than Kat thought was appropriate of his rippling muscle. Not that she didn't enjoy this spectacle, of course. Glancing around quickly and see no other escape route, Kat quickly tried to vault over the tree root, an act that was greatly hampered by the dress. *Uh-oh. What now?* she thought as she heard Boromir whistling, to close for her to be comfortable with. Kat looked over the other side of the branch and decided to risk and drop, it didn't look that bad. Seconds before Boromir came into view, Kat dropped onto the ground, fell over after she tried to run, got up, hiked up the dress and fled from the pool, cursing the dress the entire time. A chuckle interrupted her fuming and Kat spun around. There, sitting causally on the steps was Legolas. "Listen you piddly shite! I'm not happy at the moment, my clothes are gone and I'm wearing this horrid dress! DON'T PUSH ME!" she said, glaring at him vehemently, then stalking off to her room. Once inside, she sat back down in the chair, and fumed some more. Then Ellora walked in. "Do you like the dress? Its one of my own." She said before Kat could start raving. Ellora looked so eager to please that Kat felt like she would be hitting a puppy is she said that she didn't like the dress. It really wasn't a bad dress, once she thought about it. "Oh, yes, I like the dress. I don't usually wear them at home though. Do you know where my clothes went to?" Kat asked, getting up. "I gave them to the others, I thought you had borrowed the clothes from one of them. They were men's short britches and shirts. Why would you want them back?" Ellora asked. "Where I come from women can wear men's clothes if they wish. I'm just used to it is all. I'll just pop in on the others and get them back." Kat said, and Ellora gave her directions to the others quarters. When she arrived Merry and Pippin were the only two there. "Hey guys. Have you seen my clothes?" She asked when they looked up, surprised at her appearance. "Yeah, Legolas told us to burn them, saying that they weren't suitable for girls, even you." Merry said. "HE WHAT?!!" Kat yelled in disbelief. "Yes, what's wrong with a dress? You don't look bad in it." Said Pippin bluntly. "I don't like dresses." Kat said icily. An elf appeared at the entry way. "It is time for the feast! There is much food, drink and merriment to be had! Follow me!" he said. Merry and Pippin were out the door within seconds, Kat following behind, not noticing her sketch book had been saved before her clothes were tossed onto the fire. 


	7. Feasts of Madness

Authors Note: HAIL REVIEWERS!!! Look at that!! This story got past Chapter 5!! HUZZAH!! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed!! I love you all!! I'd just like to say that it's been brought to my attention that the characters of LOTR do not speak English (I completely overlooked this fact, both when writing and reading) nor do they understand it, but for the purposes of this fic, they will! A thousand pardons to anyone who takes offense! I'm trying to work on the format of the fic too, for it has also been brought to my attention that the fic is a bit hard to follow because of the format! Bare with me and it will improve, scouts honor! Happy reading!  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own LOTR, yet I most defiantly not turn down any offer to! Don't sue, you'll only get whatever I own, which at this moment is a bag of peanuts and candy, which I plan on eating, so sod off!  
  
The elf led Merry, Pippin, and Kat to a giant, candle lit hall, where the revels had already begun. Kat was seated next to Ellora at series of long tables laden with delicious food. The hall was noisy with talk and laughter, there was music and there was even some dancing. Kat immediately began to stuff her face with whatever food she could lay her hungry hands on, talking to Ellora between swallows.  
  
"So, Kat. How is it that you came to be traveling with the others?" asked someone across the table from her. Kat looked up from whatever, a very tasty whatever mind you, to see Haldir, who actually looked happy.  
  
"Hush Haldir! Kat is weary, don't pester her about the detail's!" Ellora chided Haldir good naturedly before Kat could reply.  
  
"Weary and hungry both!" Haldir commented playfully as Kat took a very un- lady like bite out of a roll. They all laughed as Kat caught the looks that passed between Ellora and Haldir and smirked slightly. From the head of the tables; where Aragorn, Frodo, Boromir, Celebron and Galadriel were seated, there rose a great laughing cry from all. Kat looked up to see elven women leading Aragorn, Boromir and the others off to dance.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked curiously as the hobbits, Gimli and Legolas passed by her.  
  
"Its a dance for the Company apparently." A slightly less bemused Ellora replied, watching the spectacle as well.  
  
"Should you not be dancing as well?" Haldir asked, suddenly appearing beside Kat.  
  
"What, me? Dance? That' funny!!" Kat said, laughing and taking another bite of the roll.  
  
"Come on Kat, you are a part of the Company, are you not? I'm sure it will be fun." Haldir said, taking her hand.  
  
"Tell you what, how about you and Ellora dance instead?!" Kat said hopefully, looking from one blushing elf to the other. Ellora gave Kat an encouraging smile as Haldir led her towards the others.  
  
"No, Haldir, you don't understand. See, I cant dance... at all. Not even a little bit." Kat said as Haldir left her at the end of the line of elven women who had paired up with the Company members. Haldir took his place opposite Kat and chuckled, amused by her protest. *Oh, I know I'm going to regret this.* Kat thought to herself as the dance began. She tried her best to follow the dances steps, but wound up stumbling around in a fashion that resembled what everyone else was doing. Then the music sped up and Kat tried even harder to keep up, but got so lost she had to stop and watch the others a few times or be gently guided along by Haldir. To her surprise, for all the confusion about the actually dancing, Kat was enjoying herself. This probably had to do with the fact that Merry and Pippin, who had no regard for the dance steps (even if they had known the right ones), were capering around their partners, to the amusement of all. That and Frodo was dancing in a manner that strongly resembled the Chicken Dance. When she saw that, Kat burst out laughing, but she didn't laugh for long, for as the dance progressed, she found out that you had to change partners and dance with everyone. So off Kat went, spinning into the hands of Aragorn, and then laughing onto the hobbits, who danced around her with not regard for personal safety as Merry and Pippin frequently smashed into one another. Next she danced with Gimli, a bit awkwardly because of the height difference, but Gimli seemed rather graceful for a dwarf, at least from Kat's limited experience, until she twirled into Boromir. As she whirled and twirled in his strong hands, she discovered it was the first time she had felt graceful in a very long time and she was truly having fun dancing with him! She smiled as they danced and he returned her smile with a charming grin of his own. But Kat's grace was short lived, for after a brief moment she was spun into the waiting arms of...Legolas. They scowled at one another, and when it came time for a twirl of some sort, Kat promptly lost her balance and fell over. The music stopped and everyone starred at her as she sat on the floor. Merry and Pippin were hoping for anther amusing fight between Kat and Legolas, but they were disappointed when Kat promptly burst out laughing. Then someone else laughed, and then another, until the entire hall roared with laughter, even Legolas was grinning, but surely because Kat had clumsily fallen over.  
  
"Are you all right?" asked Ellora as the music started again and everyone who wanted to dance did so.  
  
"Oh, yes, I'm fine. Just lost my balance, I'm clumsy. Why don't you and Haldir have a dance?" Kat suggest suddenly, as the two glanced bashfully at each other. "Go on!" said Kat as she got up and gave the two a gentle push towards the other dancers. The two went, and Kat went back to her seat, munching again on whatever she could get her hands on. Haldir and Ellora came and sat down again, glancing at each other even more. The evening grew to night, and night grew into later night, as the feast continued on, Haldir and Ellora dancing again and again, needless of any encouragement. Kat was even persuaded to dance again, but only because Pippin and Merry had asked, had it been anyone else she would have politely refused, well, perhaps if Boromir asked...  
  
"Kat?" a voice broke into her brief day-dream of whirling around in the warriors arms. "Who what?" Kat asked, a bit startled, as she looked around. Ellora was there, Haldir seated next to her, looking at Kat with a concerned look on her face. "Are you all right? You had a very funny look on you're face." Ellora asked. Kat, shamed by the fact she had been day-dreaming about the Boromir (whom she knew there was no possible way of having), coughed and looked away. "I'm all right, I'm just tired. I think I should go to bed, good night!" Kat said, flashing the two a quick smile and went to bid Celebron and Galadriel farewell for the evening. To Kat, rules of etiquette applied everywhere, even in Middle Earth.  
  
Kat wandered about the wood, lost and tired. She'd been doing this sometime now, and only managed to get even more lost. She recognized nothing, but at least this meant she wasn't going around in circles. Trudging up some stairs she thought she heard someone laughing. Kat turned a corner and heard the laughter again. Following the sound she stop beside a bush, the laughter on the other side. *Maybe they'll know where I'm going.* Kat thought as she turned the corner. Her jaw hit the ground, for there, right in front of her, was Legolas, with some other elf, kissing. *Wait, where's his hand? OH GOOD GODS!!!* she thought and turned away quickly. Striding away briskly before either of them noticed her, Kat planned to soak her eye's with soap to get that image out of her mind. She was to shocked to notice where she was going to notice she had stumbled upon another couple. Looking up she saw yet another elven women with someone, only it wasn't another elf, it was a human. Its was Boromir.  
  
Kat, even more shocked, stood there and blinked for a moment. Then fled in the first available direction. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she knew exactly why. Kat, despite herself, had begun to love Boromir, and had actually had the notion that he might return her affection. Now her happy evening was spoilt and a new pain was added to her heart. Exhausted, Kat sat down on some steps and cried herself to sleep. 


	8. Fluffy Reconciliation

Disclaimer: YaR!!! Still own nill, except one or two things. Sue and you'll get *digs around the piles of junk on her floor* this handy dandy alien keychain!! *Grins unconvincingly and wiggles the keychain* Ahem, right, read. OH!! I think I've got this formatting stuff down!! Enjoy!  
  
Kat woke in a bed, but not her own. She glanced at the room about her, and discovered that she was not in her own room, but someone else's. *Where in the abyss am I?* she asked herself as she got out of the bed and stepped on someone. Yelping, Kat hopped back into the bed and peeked over the edge. There, still asleep and undisturbed by being stepped on, was Boromir. * Goatish harpy's! Why am I in his room?!* Kat asked herself fretfully, looking for the door and a way to get there without awakening him. She took some consolation in the fact that they both had their clothes on. Stepping quietly over the slumbering man, who snored slightly, Kat went to the entrance and peered outside. Sam was there making breakfast for the others, and she couldn't make a dash for the way to her room without the hobbit noticing and getting suspicious. *Craptacular.* Kat thought as she stuck her head back into the room. She listened to Sam's various cooking things clink and clonk and clank against one another as he made breakfast, waiting for when the noise stopped to check if the rather portly hobbit was still at work. Her eyes wandered about the room, it didn't have much in it, Boromir's sword and shield lay in a corner along with the rest of his gear. Other than that there was nothing, except Boromir himself. Kat watched him sleeping on the floor and grinned, it looked as if had fallen out of bed and went right on sleeping. She wondered if this was actually the case, then the noises from outside stopped. Waiting a moment to be certain, and then peeked outside. No one was there, so Kat took a step forward...and tripped on the hem of the unfamiliar dress, falling flat on her face. While she was on the ground seeing if anyone in front of her had reappeared and notice that she was sticking out of Borimirs room, Boromir woke behind her.  
  
"Good Morning." He said sleepily as he sat up. Kat, mortified and startled at the same time, stood up quickly, not looking at him.  
  
"Oh! I was, ugh, just leaving." She said, looking outside once again.  
  
"Why not stay for breakfast? It smells like Sam's cooking a good one." Boromir suggested, standing as well, a kind smile on his face and in his tone.  
  
"I'm not very hungry." Kat replied as she strode out of the room. The previous nights incidents had finally caught up with her, and she suddenly couldn't be in the same room with Boromir, for fear tears would give away her feelings, which wouldn't help anything now.  
  
Kat half walked half ran to her room, sobs threatening to over take her. Pushing back the cloth and stepping into the room, Kat flung herself onto the bed and buried her head in the pillows, which had always helped prevent tears before, so why not now Kat reasoned. She lay there, her head in the pillow, chastising her self for becoming attached to Boromir. She knew what was going to happen, even if she hadn't seen him with the elven women. He would be gone and she would be left with pain. Kat flopped onto her side and stared at the wall, not noticing when someone stuck their head into the room or when they entered. They had brought her breakfast, which they set down on the table and sat down in the giant tree root chair couch thing. Kat still made no indication she had noticed anything.  
  
"Kat?" a gentle voice said, and Kat still did nothing. "I brought you some breakfast, I thought that you'd get hungry at some point." The voice said, Kat continued to stare at the wall. "Kat? Are you all right?" the voice continued, this time ringing with concern. Kat made note that it was masculine sounding. "You don' seem well. I found you on some steps last night and brought you to my room, I didn't know where yours was. Pippin told me just now. Anyway, you looked like you had been crying for some reason so I..." the voice trailed off as Kat's eyes widened. Boromir was in her room she realized, and she there she was, miserable, staring at a wall, and being exceedingly rude. He was being exceedingly kind too. *Just because I was stupid and fell for him, doesn't mean I should take out my grief on him.* Kat determined, also deciding she would rid herself of her silly crush immediately. How she was going to that was yet to be determined though.  
  
Kat sat up suddenly sat up, surprising Boromir, and mumbled something resembling a 'thank you'. She nibbled at the food he had brought, noting that it did taste good. Boromir smiled at this and sat watching her while she finished the meal. Kat was slowly getting over her sorrow and began enjoying Boromirs company.  
  
"That was really good." Kat said, once she finished a piece of bacon.  
  
"It looked good." Boromir agreed, eyeing the last strip of bacon. Kat saw this and offered to him. Boromir took it sheepily, and munched on it thoughtfully. "Very good indeed." He said at last, as Kat let out a short laugh. Boromir smiled as he licked his fingers clean. Kat tried to sit cross-legged on the bed, but was foiled by the confounded dress she wore.  
  
"I need to find some pants and a shirt." Kat comment, annoyed as she was forced to sit with her legs dangling over the side of the bed.  
  
"I think you look lovely in a dress." Boromir complimented before his brain could tell him to keep quiet. Kat gave him a big smile and he looked away blushing furiously.  
  
"Why are you so kind to me, Boromir? You've been nice to me since I fell on the hobbits. I don't understand it." Kat said suddenly, a tone of true bewilderment in her voice. Boromir sat for a moment, to stunned to speak, then got up and sat next to Kat. It was Kat's bewilderment grew to higher degrees of confusion at Boromirs action.  
  
"To tell you the truth, I think I-" Boromir began, leaning towards Kat. He was interrupted by Ellora running into the room calling for Kat. Boromir and Kat both stood up and took a step away from each other.  
  
"Oh! Was I interrupting something?" Ellora said, turning to leave.  
  
"No, nothing, I was just leaving. Good-day lady's." Boromir said quickly, his hand brushing against Kat's as he walked past her and out of the room. Ellora watched him leave and then looked at Kat with an eyebrow raised in inquiry. Kat blushed, sitting down in the chair Boromir had previously sat in.  
  
"What was that about?" She asked, her eyebrow still raised.  
  
"He just brought me breakfast." Kat said, trying to control the blush that was spreading to her ears. Both of Elloras brow's raised in surprise, but then she smiled knowingly.  
  
"That was certainly nice of him." Ellora said, watching as Kat's expression turned thought-full.  
  
"Yes...it was. I don't understand." Kat said, hanging her legs over one of the chair's arm's and stared at the ceiling.  
  
"Well you are a women, and he is a man." Ellora said offhand, sitting on the bed.  
  
"That's the thing!" Kat exclaimed suddenly, turning her face toward Ellora. "I saw him last night with some other elven women, and he tells me he found me asleep on some stairs, so he brought me to his room because he didn't know where mine was. THEN, after I leave because of...um...stuff, he brings me breakfast!!" Kat finished with an exasperated sigh.  
  
"Well, the elven women I can explain." Ellora said with a conspiritory grin. Kat raised an eyebrow in response. "Apparently," Ellora began in a gossiping manner, "Boromir's dance partner took a liking to him, and sat with him through the rest of the feast. When the feast ended, she asked Boromir to walk escort her to her home. She had more unchaste idea's in mind when they set out. She apparently faked some illness and sat down on a bench to recover. Boromir was concerned and sat down to make sure she was all right. Upon him taking a seat, she launched herself at him and tried to kiss him!!!" Ellor finished, laughing.  
  
"So Boromir had nothing to do with it?!" Kat exclaimed happily, a grin brightening her face.  
  
"Nothing, although he did have to pry her off him." Ellora said, another gale of laughter escaping her. Kat joined her with her own laughter, joyful at this news.  
  
"I see you have a great affection for Boromir." Ellora said once their giggles had subsided.  
  
"What? No I don't!" Kat said defensively, looking at anything but her elven friend.  
  
"Whatever you say, but come! We have wasted enough time already!" She said suddenly.  
  
"What? What's going on?!" Kat said, thoroughly confused as Ellora dragged her out of the room.  
  
"It's time you learned you're way around Lothlorien! Haldir and I are going to show you as much as possible! Be thankful Boromir brought you breakfast, you'll be going almost everywhere today!" Ellora said gleefully as they climbed a staircase to meet Haldir. The rest of the day was spent exploring and being shown everything in the Golden Wood. It helped having someone who was on border patrol as a guide. Whenever Kat wasn't around, Haldir and Ellora would hold hands and talk, and sometimes even sneak a kiss when they thought Kat wasn't watching. Kat indulged the couple by exploring by herself as often as possible. It was evening when Kat went back to her room, smiling as she saw Haldir and Ellora disappear around the corner with their arms linked. Stretching, she yawned and flopped on the bed, ready to just let sleep envelope her. She opened her eyes when she noticed a large bulge sticking into her stomach. *What in frothy rats bane is that?!* Kat thought to her self as she rolled over onto her back and peered at the small pile of clothes before her. There was note too. Kat picked it up and read it. Thus it read:  
  
"Dear Kat, Meet me at the river bridge. You'll need these. -Boromir"  
  
Kat put down the note and picked up the clothes, finding a pair of black breeches and a large, comfy looking, peasant shirt. Kat smiled and put the clothes on the table, tucking the note into her bag. She threw her self on the bed again, still grinning, and slept soundly the whole night through. 


	9. Fending Off Madness

Disclaimer: Indeed, I still own nothing that is LOTR and it's glory, sue and you'll get a nice little *looks around* three hole puncher!! You like the three hole puncher!! No you don't, stop lying, don't sue me.  
  
It was morning the next day. Kat had dressed in the clothes Boromir had given her, sticking the dress in the bottomless pit that was her bag, hopefully never to be seen again. The pants fit snugly and her sneakers didn't look too awkward, so it was fine. The shirt was a bit large, but that was the exactly how Kat liked it. Setting out after a quick breakfast with Sam and Frodo, which was again very tasty, Kat walked through the enormous tree's to the bridge. Once she got to the first bridge, it took her a moment to remember that there was more than one bridge, and since Boromir was no where in sight, she was probably at the wrong one. Kat hummed to herself as she walked up the river bank, wondering just how cold the water was. She was toying with the idea of taking a swim. As she continued on, still toying with the swimming idea, sounds of metal hitting metal invaded her thoughts. Curiosity got the better of Kat, which it did frequently, and she turned the corner as she was nearing the next bridge. What Kat saw was a clearing, with Merry and Pippin engaged in a sword fight with Boromir. That made her incredibly confused. The fact that Aragorn was sitting against a tree, smoking his pipe and watching the three combatants, was even more confusing. *What in the beef-witted blossom's is going on?* Kat asked herself, as she walked in to the clearing.  
  
"Oh, hullo Kat! Look who's here, Merry!" Pippin said when he saw Kat. He proceeded to tug on Merry's jacket, unaware that Merry was busy fending off an attack from Boromir. As a result, Pippin tugged extra hard on Merry, who fell over, then when Pippin turned round to see what had Merry's attention, he tripped over the fallen hobbit. Then the two began rolling around, Merry yelling something about how he had almost had Boromir right where he wanted him and Pippin yelling that he was terribly sorry. The two men proceeded to burst out laughing, while Kat stood there chuckling.  
  
"We were wondering when you'd show up." Said an unpleasant voice behind Kat. Legolas was there too, much to Kat's dismay. She scowled at him.  
  
"I'm here, but why?" she asked, turning back around to face the others. Merry and Pippin had ceased their struggling.  
  
"Weapons Training!" Supplied Merry cheerfully.  
  
"Look out." comment Aragorn from his tree. Kat turned her head to look at him and encountered something flying at her head. Kat cried out in surprise, threw up her hands and surprisingly caught the offending object.  
  
"What was that for!" Kat yelled, casting her best evil glare around the group.  
  
"It was to give you a weapon first of all, and secondly to test your reflexes." Aragorn supplied, still puffing at his pipe.  
  
"Oh." Kat said, looking down at the sword in its scabbard in her hands. It was a bit heavy, but the weight was comfortable. Grasping the hilt she unsheathed the sword, watching as the sun glinted off the blade, then Kat's face broke into a mischievous/evil grin. The hobbits, men, and the elf looked at each other uncertainly, but the look on Kat's face faded when she realized that everyone was having second thought's about teaching her any form of combat, a useful thing to have on a quest in Middle Earth. The other's relaxed visibly, and Boromir brandished his own sword. Kat paused for a second, confused, then dropped the scabbard to grasp the hilt with two hands. Boromir advanced and Kat stood there, apprehensive. Merry and Pippin had taken a seat next to Aragorn, who was still puffing on his pipe, and Legolas was sitting on a rock near by. *Got to love an audience.* Kat thought to her self.  
  
Boromir's sword slashed at her suddenly, and Kat cried out, stepping backwards out of range. Boromir continued to advance as Kat retreated. She retreated so quickly that she tripped over her own two feet and fell to the ground with a thud. She could hear the others chuckling. Scrambling up again, Kat grabbed her sword, brandished it, and ran head long at Boromir, who side stepped her easily and grabbed her by the arm as she passed. Kat was spun round, lost her balance and fell against Boromir heavily, almost knocking them both to the ground. They stood there for a moment, with no apparent intention of moving, staring at each other.  
  
"Focus, use your sword instead of retreating. Do not let anger get the better of you." Aragorn, who was starting to sound like Yoda to Kat, said from the side of the clearing. Kat looked away first, backing up a step, as did Boromir, as they both got ready again. This time Kat was determined not to fall over for any reason, by gods she was going to learn how to fight and she was going to learn to fight well. To her disappointment, she was bested by Boromir many times, countless time's she ended up on the ground at sword point and forced to yield to him.  
  
She was getting better though, a few times she almost had Boromir yielding to her, but was then toppled over or countered. It started to annoy her greatly. It was growing towards dusk as the final bout of the day began, Kat was extremely tired, not used to wielding the now weighty sword, but Boromir showed no signs of fatigue. Kat rallied whatever strength she had and flourished the sword to show she was ready. Boromir's sword flashed out at her and the two began a whirlwind of attacks and counter attacks, blocks and advances, the sound of metal bashing against metal ringing in the air. Round and round the two went, Kat doing her best to block whatever was thrown at her. Up and down the two swords danced, around and around the two combatants went, forward then backwards, until Boromir decided to up the intensity and drive Kat backwards. Kat felt the grass of the clearing disappear and the ground along the bank of the river meet her feet. A quick maneuver and Boromir's sword point appeared before her eye's, causing Kat to jump backward in surprise. Kat felt air under her feet for a moment before she dropped into the river, flailing about until she realized it was only a few feet deep, and then realizing it was bone chillingly cold. She could hear Legolas laughing from a few feet away. A hand appeared before her eye's and she grasped it quickly, and was easily pulled from the cold water. Kat looked up at Boromir with thankful eyes as she wrung out the hem of her shirt.  
  
"Not bad for a first day, meet here tomorrow at sunrise. Go get some food and some rest." Aragorn said as he and the hobbits strode off.  
  
"Lot's of rest, tomorrow will be even more challenging! Perhaps you'll stop falling over, then again, perhaps not." Legolas said to Kat before walking off.  
  
"Don't mind him," murmured a deep voice in Kat's ear, sending pleasant shivers down her spine, or was that shivering from the water? "he's just cross that you did so well." Boromir handed her the scabbard with a smile before walking off after the others. Kat stood there for a second before the thought of food roused her from her thoughts and she ran after Boromir crying out for him to wait. 


	10. Finally Something Happens!

Disclaimer: Yes, yes, don't own the book, realm, characters or anything of the sort. Everyone wishes they did, including me. Disclaimers are the bane of my existence. No one reads them anyway. Right, with that said, the next, long awaited chapter is now up for your enjoyment! HUZZAH! (Run while you can! My sanity wont hold much longer!!) Sorry that it took so long to get this up!! School has begun to dissolve my mind as well as any amounts of free time. SORRY! I'll make it up to you all...some how...at some point...in the future. I need to breed some plot bunnies for the next few chapters. Anyone know where I can get some Plot Bunnies? Plot Bunnies? Anyone? Buller?  
  
When we last left our hero's, Kat had been introduced to bone chillingly cold water and Boromir had helped her out of it! Horray! Okay, so I tried to make it sound exciting, sue me! (Don't, you'll only get a moldy, old, naked, wrinkly goldfish.) One more thing! Not everything is as it seems! Hehe! ^_^  
  
Kat sat next to the fire, her clothes drying nicely, the warm food easing the chills. Everyone else was talking about one thing or another, and Kat listened as she munched on some of the bread Sam had given her. She liked Merry and Pippins stories best, for they usually got so excited while telling it that they felt compelled to jump from their seats and act it out. As the evening continued on some of the others took out their pipes and started relating tales of their home lands. The hobbits told of the Shire, of Hobbiton, and Buckland, Sam speaking wistfully of Rivendale, Frodo keeping to himself, puffing on his pipe as he listened. Legolas talked of Mirkwood and his fathers palace there, which did sound rather nice. Gimli spoke of his family's mine deep in some far off mountain. Aragorn wound tales of every place imaginable, from sea shores to the bottom of canyons and everywhere in between. Kat and the hobbits listened in awe. Aragorn told of the plains to the west and the desert sands that lay to the east. He spoke briefly of Gondor, but where Aragorn's description of that land stopped, Boromir's began.  
  
Boromirs eye's shone as he spoke of his homeland. He told of the forests and the rivers, of plains of grass, and the mountains. Most of all he described Minis Tirith down to the most obscure detail. Of glittering spires and imposing battlements, of homely streets and grand festivals. The way he spoke of the city made Kat want to drop everything and go there immediately. But the light in Boromirs eye's began to fade when Frodo asked about guarding Gondor against Mordor.  
  
"We do the best we can. Many men die everyday, but Gondor still stands. Although, I long for the day when the foes in Mordor cease to be a threat." Boromir said no more after that, and the everyone fell into a deep brooding silence. Merry and Pippin couldn't stand the silence for very long and were soon telling tales again. From the look on Sam and Frodos faces, many of these stories were being made up as the two hobbits went along. Merry was telling of how he once slew an orc, bare handed, all by himself, and Pippin was acting as the orc. No one believed them, but they humored Merry so he would go on with his outlandish fib. When Merry went to slay the orc, a.k.a Pippin, he accidentally hit it in the nose. The hobbit and 'orc' were fighting within minutes, rolling around the camp as everyone sat laughing. The two rolled far to close to the fire than was safe, and as a result, Pippins scarf caught fire, not allot, a small tiny lick of flame, but Merry quickly put it out by throwing some water from the river at him and then stood with his hands in his pockets, as if waiting for a reward. Pippin, soaking wet and dripping, was not about to give one. Merry, seeing Pippin glaring at him, took off running, Pippin following close behind. Everyone burst out laughing as soon as Merry and Pippins yelling faded into the distance.  
  
"Some one will have to go find them, I'll wager." Sam said, nabbing another mushroom off the frying pan.  
  
"I'm sure they can find there own way back." Aragorn commented, blowing a smoke ring into the air. Gimli had nodded off and was snoring beside him. Legolas nudged him discreetly, but Gimli took no heed. He simply snorted and went right on snoozing. Sam and Frodo chuckled good naturedly. Kat tried to stifle a yawn, but the yawn won in the end, although she did cover her mouth, hoping that no one had noticed. She'd had a thing about being tired in front of other people since she had fallen asleep on watch. Kat looked around to see if anyone had seen, and found Boromir grinning at her sweetly. Kat looked away quickly, there was something about his smile that always made her blush a bit. The yelling Merry and Pippin were rounding on the camp again, and Kat decided she had had enough excitement for one day. She got up with an exaggerated stretch, bid everyone good night, for it was almost midnight by the moon, and walked off in the direction of her room. Kat had barely made it around the corner when Merry and Pippin went flying past her, Merry running as if a demon were on his heels, and a mud covered Pippin chasing him, looking every part a horrible creature of some sort.  
  
"I'm sorry!! It's not my fault you fell in the mud!! You were chasing me! Not me chasing you!" Merry yelled as he ran past, nearly knocking Kat over.  
  
"Sorry Kat! No time to chat!" Pippin called over his shoulder as he passed her. As he rounded the corner, he lost his footing and crashed into the brushes with a girlish scream. Kat stared for a moment, then fell over laughing as Pippin emerged from the bush, leaves sticking to the mud everywhere. He looked like a bush that had uprooted itself and went clambering off down the path. Kat took a few deep breaths and got up again, walking down the path, chuckling every once and awhile. She was barely halfway to her room when hurried footsteps rang out behind her. Kat stopped, and turned around on the path, half expecting Merry and Pippin to come tearing out of the underbrush. She would have laughed at the thought, except no one was behind her. *Hmmm, I must be imagining things.* Kat thought as she started down the path once more. Then the footsteps started again, closer this time. Kat whirled around, hoping to catch whoever was following her this time, but no one was there. *Okay, I must be really tired, that or I'm losing my mind.* she thought, either one being equally possible. As Kat turned back around, something leapt out of the bushes in front of her.  
  
"Boo!" something shouted as Kat fell over with a startled yell. (A/N: Geez, maybe I should give her some balance...since she doesn't have any...). Kat was about to flee back to the others when familiar laughter assaulted her ears. She knew that laugh. Kat looked up at who was laughing at her. It was none other than Boromir. "Got you!" he said, laughing again.  
  
"Oh, not cool! You're going to get it now!" Kat said, vaulting from the ground at Boromir. She should have learned from that afternoon that running headlong at someone didn't accomplish much. Boromir caught her easily in his arms, Kat struggling to break free, which only made Boromir laugh harder.  
  
"Its not funny!!!" Kat said desperately, still trying to get out of his hold on her.  
  
"Oh yes it is." Boromir replied, his mirth subsiding a bit, smiling at her. Kat was blushing again. *That damn smile of his!!* she thought, giving up, maybe relaxing would be better than struggling anyway. Kat tried it, and only then did she notice how tight his hold on her was, how warm she felt in his grasp, and how close Boromir's grinning face was to hers. Boromir apparently noticed this too, and abruptly let go of her. So the relaxing had worked, but Kat wondered why she felt so oddly disappointed when Boromir released her from his grasp.  
  
"I'm sorry I scared you." He said, stepping a short distance away from her. Kat smoothed her shirt nonchalantly.  
  
"I wasn't scared. You merely...startled me. That's all." Kat replied, she wouldn't have anyone thinking she was scared of someone jumping out of the bushes on the side of a path in the middle of the night, especially not the person who had leapt out of the bushes in the first place.  
  
"You weren't were you? Then why did you shriek like a girl?" Boromir asked as they started walking again, smiling ever so slightly.  
  
"I wasn't, and I definitely did not shriek. You must be confusing me with Pippin, he shrieks, I don't." she stated.  
  
"Oh no, I'm not confusing the two at all! You shrieked! You just don't want to admit it." Said he with a chuckle. Kat glared at him, which only made Boromir start laughing all over again. Kat gave up and punched his arm, but only lightly.  
  
"Ow!" Boromir cried in mock pain, still grinning like a fool. Kat laughed and patted his arm.  
  
"Sorry." Said she with a chortle. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. "So why were you following me anyway?" Kat asked, looking down the path, they were about ¾ of the way to her room.  
  
"Oh!" Boromir exclaimed, "You forgot this when you left. I came to give them to you." He explained, holding out the sword Aragorn had thrown at her earlier.  
  
"I didn't even realize that I'd left it, not really used to carrying a sword around. Thanks." Said Kat awkwardly, taking the sword from him.  
  
"Get used to it, that sword will most likely save your life, if not someone else's." replied Boromir cryptically. Kat nodded slowly, looking at him with an odd expression, like a light had dawned on her.  
  
"What is it?" he asked, looking around to see what was making Kat act so odd.  
  
"Huh? Oh! Nothing, nothing at all." She said, looking away quickly. Her doorway loomed ahead. A stick snapped in the trees as she passed. Kat spun around quickly, she'd had enough surprises for one night. She thought she heard someone muttering something. "Did you hear that?" she asked, peering into the darkness.  
  
"Hear what?" Boromir asked, confused, he hadn't heard anything but their footsteps on the path, then again, he hadn't been listening for anything in particular. Kat was acting very odd in his opinion.  
  
"Nothing." Kat said, and started to turn away when she heard giggling. "Wait!" she said, grasping Boromir's arm suddenly as he began to turn away. The giggling abruptly stopped. "I swore I heard something!" Kat said, listening hard, hand still on Boromir's arm.  
  
"Kat? Are you all right? I didn't mean to scare you this badly. Maybe I should stay with you for a bit." Boromir suggested, looking at her with concern.  
  
"What? Yes, yes, I'm fine. There's no need for you to stay." Kat said, staring into the woods for a few more seconds before she turned on her heel abruptly, determining it must have been the wind. She took a few step's forward, forgot about the tree root that stuck out of the ground a few feet away from her door, and tripped over it. She braced herself for the fall that never came. Kat opened her shut eyes as she felt strong hands righting her again. Confused, Kat spun around without getting her balance, and fell into Boromir's arms for the second time that evening. Kat gazed at his face for what seemed like minutes but was actually a few seconds, unsuccessfully resisting the urge to push a wisp of hair out of it. She reached out and tucked the strand absently behind his ear before she realized what she doing. Then realization hit Kat like a bag of M & M's.  
  
"Um...right! I'll see you tomorrow then!" Kat said, slipping out of his grasp quickly and retreating to her room. She had lifter the curtain out of the doorway when a Boromir grasped her hand. Kat turned and watched, befuddled, as he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles lightly, sweetly.  
  
"Good night." He said, then dropping her hand and beating his own hasty retreat when he realized what he had just done. *What the hell just happened?* Kat asked her now frazzled brain, watching Boromir walk away. Apparently she wasn't the only one who was asking that question. "Merry? What just 'append?" Pippin asked from there hiding spot in the trees as they watched Kat stand for a second and then go inside, and Boromir meander down the path. Pippin had finally caught up with Merry, and now they both looked like walking and talking bushes.  
  
"He kissed her." Merry said simply, even though he was rather confused himself.  
  
"That didn't look like a kiss to me." Pippin replied.  
  
"Men are odd about these things, Pip. They have all sorts of rules about what to do when you love a girl and such." Merry replied matter of factly.  
  
"Is one of the rules not being allowed to kiss 'er?" Pippin persisted. Hobbits are a lot more observant than they look!  
  
"I don't think so." Merry said, mulling the matter over in his mind.  
  
"Then why didn't 'e just kiss 'er instead of 'er hand?" Pippin exclaimed, utterly confused. He'd never understand Men. (A/N: HAHA!!! NEVER THOUGHT YOU'D HERE A GUY SAY THAT?! DID YOU! ^_^ Don't worry, I still love Pippin/ Billy Boyd, have no fear.)  
  
"I don't know! But lets go find out!" Merry said, and the two bush disguised hobbits trundled off down the path in pursuit of the one Man that could tell them what exactly had just happened. What they didn't know was that he wasn't exactly sure himself.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED!!!  
  
REVIEW!! Please? I'm sorry it took so long!! I really am!! *sad, pathetic, 'please forgive the author' face* 


	11. Pippin and Others Learn

Disclaimer: Yep, don't own LOTR, and for the sole reason that I'd turn most of the Fellowship into my personal Male Harem, and a great deal of the other characters too. So don't sue. Sue and you'll get *looks into her bag of stuff people will get if they sue* um...hold on just a sec....*rummages* no...not that...nope...*hums elevator music while everyone waits, continues to dig* hmmm....uh...here it is!! You will get this fabulous...Lego head? Yes! The Lego head of inane babble! Yep, I've lost my sanity. Go read before you lose yours as well.  
  
Boromir walked along the path, deep in thought, and failing to notice the two bushes that followed him. Two bushes that were having an apparently heated discussion.  
  
"You ask 'im!" said the first walking and talking bush, giving the other a shove towards Boromir.  
  
"You're the one who wanted to know! You ask him!" said the second bush, pulling the first up with him.  
  
"But you were the one who wanted to go find out!" the first bush said. The second bush glared at the first. "Oh fine! I'll ask." The first bush said, giving in to the second. The bush trotted up along side Boromir and gave his arm a tug. When Boromir didn't respond, the bush looked back at the other bush and shrugged. The other bush glared back in a 'try again you fool of a Took!' way. And so the first bush tugged on Boromir again, and shouted his name.  
  
"What? What?" Boromir asked, spinning around to see what had tugged on his arm. He peered at what appeared to be a bush. "Pippin? Why do you look like a bush?"  
  
"We fell into some mud and then into some leaves. It's very good camouflage actually!" Pippin said excitedly. Merry ran up next to him before he could stop Pippin from saying it.  
  
"Camouflage? For what?" a confused, but somewhat suspicious Boromir asked.  
  
"Uh...bird watching!" Merry supplied quickly.  
  
"In the middle of the night? When there are no birds?" stated Boromir.  
  
"Yep! That's best time!" Pippin replied before Merry nudged him in the ribs. Pippin nudged Merry back. They glared at each other for a moment.  
  
"Right... so what did you want?" Boromir asked before the impending argument broke out.  
  
"Oh! We wanted to know why you kissed Kat's hand instead of just kissing 'er if its all right to kiss 'er." Pippin blurted out before Merry could stop him. Boromirs eyes went wide and he stared at the two hobbit bushes. "So that's what you were doing." He said after a moment. The hobbits looked at him expectantly. "It was the gentlemanly thing to do." Boromir answered, and wasn't apparently going to say anything more.  
  
"That's not an answer!!" Pippin exclaimed when he realized Boromir wasn't saying more.  
  
"Yes it is!" Boromir answered. "It's not proper to go around just kissing any girl you wander across!"  
  
"Not even when the girl wants you to kiss them?" Merry asked, confused.  
  
"What? What are you talking about?" asked Boromir, who was confused as well. Merry and Pippin exchanged knowing looks and a conspiratory nod.  
  
"It looked like she wanted a kiss to me." Said Merry. Then Pippin fell into his arms dramatically. They acted out, with much exaggeration, what they had seen moments before, Pippin swooning and Merry doing his best to be manly, in a human way.  
  
"No she didn't." Boromir said, a bit perturbed. He needed to go somewhere that wasn't around Merry or Pippin.  
  
"You didn't see it!? As the steward of Gondor's eldest son, you've had to have had plenty of practice, I'd wager!" said Merry, Pippin chuckled beside him. Boromir stopped in the middle of the path and pondered this point. It was true, there had been women in his past, but though they all were very nice and they seemed to have a genuine interest in Boromir, he found something lacking, he just didn't know what it was. He'd done his best to be kind to the women his father introduced him to in hopes Boromir would marry one of them. But Boromir hadn't ever really wanted to be with those women, and had always found some excuse to leave the city for any amount of time that was required for the women to finally lose interest. Boromir ceased pondering and began walking again.  
  
"You love her!! We knew it!!" Merry exclaimed, both he and Pippin running along behind him.  
  
"No I don't. And even if I did, she doesn't love me." Boromir said, wandering off down another path. He needed to think, and not with two hobbits asking him questions they apparently already knew the answer's to.  
  
"Yes she does!!! You'll see!" Pippin called after his retreating form before running off towards camp, laughing with Merry the entire way. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Why are you two laughing?" Frodo asked when the two got back to camp.  
  
"And why do you look like bushes?" Legolas asked when he saw the two hobbits.  
  
"We fell in mud, then in leaves." Pippin got out between chuckles.  
  
"And we're laughing because..." Merry started laughing all over again.  
  
"Because..." Pippin started, but started laughing too.  
  
"Because what?" Sam asked, looking up from washing out his pots and pans.  
  
"Because Boromir and Kat are in love!!!!" Merry and Pippin chorused before falling to the ground in a fit of laughter. Everyone stared at them.  
  
"Tell us something we don't know." Said Sam, going back to his washing. Merry and Pippins laughter subsided quickly.  
  
"Well, they wont admit it at any rate." Pippin said in a defeated tone.  
  
"Again, tell us something we don't know." Frodo said, going back to getting ready for bed. Merry and Pippin were extremely unhappy that their fun had been ruined, then they went off to wash all the mud and leaves away before a bedtime snack.  
  
Kat sat in the tree chair in her room, supremely confused. This never happened! Men just didn't go around be gentlemanly and kissing hands! If they wanted a girl, it was almost as if they went after them with a club!  
  
Kats bemused thoughts were interrupted by someone sitting on her bed serenely. She didn't notice until they coughed politely.  
  
"What? What?" Kat looked around her room in a startled fashion. Galadriel sat on her bed, looking at her as if she could read her every thought, which she most likely could.  
  
"I was simply wondering if you were enjoying your stay, and I did say we would talk further. So here I am." Galadriel stated, a bit melodramatically. She actually seemed like she didn't know what to say, but Kat shrugged that off as a trick of the light, since Galadriel always knew what to say...always.  
  
"Oh! I love it here! Its an absolute dream!" Kat stated quickly, lest Galadriel think Kat didn't like Lothlorien.  
  
"You seem troubled." Galadriel observed, which was entirely true.  
  
"I'm not...really." Kat said, almost slipping back into her own private thoughts.  
  
"You are not troubled by the journey? It seems as though this is all happening very quickly for you, being dropped into it and all." Galadriel prompted.  
  
"You know?" Kat asked, half relieved, half bewildered.  
  
"Know what?" the elven woman asked, a bit confused herself.  
  
"That..." Kat decided that it would be better if she didn't go around telling people she had dropped from the sky into Middle Earth. They would most likely think she was insane, surprise, surprise. "that I'm worried about the outcome of the quest and all."  
  
"We all are. The fellowship seems to be breaking, no one knows the future." Galadriel stared at the wall as she spoke, as if she were traveling through the tunnels of her mind to find some overall answer. "Perhaps all hope is not lost. Perhaps things will change, since they already have, with your unexpected arrival most definitely."  
  
"Indeed." Kat said, uncomforted by Galadriels prophetic explanation.  
  
"Yet, even now, something else occupies your thoughts. Perhaps it is something most dear to you, or someone?" Galadriel asked, the tinniest hint of a knowing smile on her face.  
  
"What? Er, no. Cant be bothered with that, being on a quest to save the world and all. Wouldn't do anyone any good anyway." Kat stated sharply, resting her head on her knees.  
  
"No one knows what does good and what doesn't. Things can change in an instant, if you wish them too. There is always time to be bothered by love, for that is what's bothering you, I see it." Galadriel did smile as Kat proceeded to not look at her and blush furiously.  
  
"I must go, but I will return at some time. I still wish to learn of this 'fortune cookie' you spoke of. It seems most intriguing." Stated Galadriel as she stood to leave. "Go to him." She urged, before slipping out of the room with silent grace. Kat stared at the door for a moment, and then retreated into her mind for some time. Then she made a decision.  
  
The moon was sinking in the sky as Kats figure made its way down the path toward the others encampment.  
  
A short time earlier, Boromir stood on the bank of the river, tossing rocks out over the water and thinking. He was thinking if it was a wise idea to do around kissing hands when he was supposed to be saving the world, or dying in the attempt. Throwing rocks had always helped him think before, so why wasn't it working now? He heaved another stone far into the middle of the river before he noticed someone was on the river bank with him.  
  
Boromir glanced to the left and saw Aragorn watching the path of the stone he had just thrown as it arched over the water.  
  
"What troubles you Boromir?" Aragorn asked, Boromir abruptly sitting on the bank and resting his hands on his knees. The ranger sat beside him.  
  
"It's nothing really. Just worried about the journey is all." Boromir answered, which was true...for the most part.  
  
"Indeed, we all worry about that. But something else is bothering you. Something to do with matters of the heart perhaps?" Aragorn looked at his friend with a slightly raised brow. Boromirs face had drained of color and he was looking about he river bank as if he were an animal trapped in a corner. He didn't talk to anyone about his love life, and no one had ever really asked him about it either, and that was the way Boromir wanted to keep it. Aragorn saw this too.  
  
"Merry and Pippin told us everything." The ranger said. This wasn't really true, since it the two hobbits had decided to go to sleep before telling the nights story in full detail, but it was complete as far as Aragorn knew. Boromirs face continued to whiten and he gulped with embarrassment.  
  
"They did, did they?" He said, looking out over the river, as if he longed to be on the other side.  
  
"Everything." Aragorn said again. Boromirs features adopted a look of despair, but he spoke no further, hoping Aragorn would leave him alone to figure out how best to tie the hobbits mouths shut, short of hurting them of course. Aragorn, thankfully, took the hint. He got up and began walking away down the bank. Aragorn stopped and turned before rounding the bend.  
  
"Go to her." He said simply, and disappeared into the lush scenery.  
  
Boromir sat for a moment, then got up and began throwing stones into the water again, still not knowing if he should go tell Kat he loved her or not, since he just figured it out himself.  
  
Kat walked away from the others camp just a short while after Aragorn had returned from talking with Boromir. He told her where to find Boromir with what seemed like a knowing and conspiratory smile. Kat wondered why he looked so odd.  
  
She rounded the bend on the river bank, and stepped into the moonlight, just as Boromir let loose his last stone of the night. It sailed over the water in a tremendous arch, reflecting the moonlight off its glistening surface, and landed with a comforting splash just beyond midstream.  
  
Kat walked up to Boromir as he stared at the place where the stone had sunk beneath the waters.  
  
"Hi." She said simply, wincing at the sound of her voice in the still night. Boromir turned, startled, and stared at her for a moment.  
  
"Hello Kat." He replied. They stared at each other for a moment, and then looked away, Kat staring at the ground, and Boromir at the opposite riverbank.  
  
"That was a good throw." Kat said, looking up after a few tense, somewhat uncomfortable moments. *Oh good Gods, I sound like a bad supermarket romance novel! I should leave now.* Kat thought to herself. Boromir remained silent.  
  
"Right. Well, goodnight then!" Kat said, deciding that she was completely out of her mind and she had better leave before everything went to hell in a hand-basket full of rabid monkeys. She turned to leave when Boromirs hand shot out and grasped her wrist.  
  
"Wait." He said simply. Kat turned back around and looked into his face with confusion, half expecting him to say something. Instead, his fingers laced through hers, his other arm snaking around her waist lovingly, and he pulled her to him gently. Kat hardly resisted. And finally, after days of wanting to, they kissed.  
  
A/N: Awwwww, how sweet! Took them long enough, didn't it? ;) Thank you everyone whose ever read this fic, especially for your patience!! More to come! I promise! Thanks again! 


	12. Sharp pointy shinny things!

Disclaimer: Oh my goodness!! Going to spork myself to death because of these stupid things!!! Well, maybe not to death, maybe just to....a small scratch. Yes, sporking myself to a small scratch sounds good. Right, still want to own LOTR, but I don't, and this makes me sad *sniffles* but I own something in here! So no stealing! And don't sue! Sue and you'll get *delves into 'The Bag of Useless Sue-edge Junk!'* this handy....dandy.....paint pallet!! Wait.....I need that. Anyway the moral of the story, folks, is that if you sue me, you'll get absolutely nothing, so save yourself the trouble.  
  
Merry and Pippin looked at one another as Kat and Boromir passed them, arms around one another, looking as if they were in a world all of there own. They took absolutely no notice of the two hobbits who somehow, after a day full of running around, couldn't sleep, even though they had desperately tried. Well, they took no notice until the hobbits made them take notice.  
  
"We knew it!!!" Pippin cried exuberantly, practically leaping into the air.  
  
"Knew it would only be a matter of time too!" Merry added with a delighted and triumphant grin. Boromir and Kat broke away from their little world and looked at the two hobbits for a moment. Then Boromir began laughing heartily while Kat simply grinned. Merry and Pippin were quickly confused. Boromir and Kat glanced at each other with sly smiles.  
  
"You were right indeed!" Boromir stated a moment later.  
  
"Such smart hobbits you two are!" Kat decided to add for her own amusement. It was partially true in her opinion, the two had known and they were indeed right. Therefore, in some way Kat didn't want to explain or think about, Merry and Pippin were smart. She could have simply argued that they were smart and just made stupid decisions, but no one would have probably listened. Merry and Pippin stood proudly before the two love birds, reveling in there new found genius. This just made Kat promptly burst out laughing, which made Boromir burst out laughing as well. The two hobbits promptly became confused and stared at Kat and Boromir.  
  
"Well, you two have fun doing whatever you were doing, I'm going to bed." Kat quickly said before the hobbits could ask anymore questions. Anymore of Merry and Pippins questions and then having to think up answers would most likely go into a prolonged laughing fit, which would just confuse everyone! She seemed good at confusing people, which could be both a good and bad thing.  
  
"I'll walk you to your room!" Boromir suggested quickly, not wanting to be left to the hobbits insatiable curiosity. Kat smiled and took the arm he offered to her, leaving the hobbits to snicker good-naturedly as they walked away. It was almost dawn and Kat began to nod off even as she walked towards her room, despite how she tried to stay awake. A few hours earlier and she would have been to confused to sleep. Soon her doorway emerged from the pre-dawn gray around them.  
  
"Should I even bother to go to sleep?" Kat mused aloud, not realizing she hadn't just thought it in her head.  
  
"Well, I would, considering your training with Legolas today." Boromir replied. Kat blushed at her blunder, but her blush of embarrassment soon turned to a scowl.  
  
"Ugh, Legolas, my least favorite elf." She said with more than a touch of scorn.  
  
"Why do you two hate each other?" Boromir asked, he'd been wondering that since Kat had arrived and the two had became bitter enemies. There shouldn't be enemies within the fellowship, it was bad karma, he thought. Even though Boromir didn't know what karma was. He probably thought whatever the karma equivalent in Middle Earth was, whatever it is.  
  
"He started it! All I did was fall on the hobbits and he decides to bite my head off! I didn't do anything! He just had to be a silly, nancing, pompous elf! So I gave it right back to him! I don't know why he hates me! He--" The beginnings of a full blown rant were silenced by a soft kiss from Boromir. If he did that every time she began ranting, Kat decided she wouldn't mind ranting everyday for the rest of her life.  
  
"You should get some sleep." Boromir said, smiling at Kats bemused and playfully disappointed face. He embraced Kat and gave her another kiss before she disappeared into her room. Boromir gazed at the doorway for a moment, turned, let out a gigantic yawn and a huge stretch, then went off to the others with a sleepy grin. Kat smiled and turned away from behind her curtained doorway as Boromir walked away, stood at the side of her bed, and fell into it, asleep before she landed.  
  
Kat awoke to cheerful sunlight bursting into her room. She, on the other hand, wasn't quite as happy. She'd been having the most wonderful dream about Merry and Pippin being bushes and talking with Galadriel, and then Boromir had kissed her. Twice even! She'd been sleeping all night, Kat was sure of that, but she wondered why it only felt like a handful of hours. But all good things must come to an end....or do they?  
  
"I was wondering when you were going to wake up!" Kat stopped mid stretch and looked around. Boromir smiled at her from the tree chair. Kat blinked in confusion, what was Boromir doing in her room? She became even more confused when he handed her a plate of food, and kissed her. *So it wasn't a dream after all!! YES!!!!* Kat thought to herself happily as she ate the food Boromir had given her. When they had finished they hurried down the river to where Kat had gotten her sword the day before. Legolas sat on a rock, watching for them impatiently. Boromir and Kat entered the clearing, laughing at something or other, holding hands. They abruptly stopped laughing once they caught sight of the elf's malevolent expression.  
  
"Well, the lovers have finally decided to join us." He sneered, hopping gracefully to the ground.  
  
"Legolas, don't start." Aragorn cautioned. He was sitting in the same exact spot as he was the day before, Kat would have sworn that he hadn't moved, that is if she hadn't seen him move the day before.  
  
"I'm not starting anything, just merely making an observation. Anyway, it's time you came back to earth, girl. I wont be as lenient with you as your dear Bory was yesterday." Legolas said with an annoyingly high lilt, batting his eyes to add to the disgustingly sweet effect. Kat looked at 'Bory', actually liking the nickname, with an emploring "I told you!" look. 'Boy' simply shrugged, gave her hand a quick squeeze and sat among the tree roots. Two seconds later, all four hobbits appeared from behind the tree, almost tumbling into the clearing. Merry and Pippin watched eagerly as Kat unsheathed her new sword, and Legolas took out two deadly looking knives. The two watched each other warily, Kat looking slightly nervous. Soon they were in a full out battle, complete with yelling, screaming and muttering insults at one another. There fighting, for it had ceased to be training when Kat had decided Legolas was hell bent on drawing blood, was so intense that the hobbits were sitting open mouthed, Boromir was grasping at a root with white knuckles for fear that one of them would inadvertently kill the other, and Aragorn had ceased his smoking. Kat swung her sword over her head, only to have it come crashing down on Legolas' crossed knives.  
  
"What a pity it is that you aren't much of an opponent." Legolas sneered in her face.  
  
"What a pity that your such an ass!" Kat spat back at him, taking a few steps back as Legolas pushed her away, only to lunge at him a moment later. His knee caught her in the stomach as she rushed past, causing Kat to fall to the ground, the wind knocked out of her. Gasping, Kat rolled over, only to find the point of two knives at her throat.  
  
"Look's like I win, yet again." Legolas said with a serene smile. Enraged, Kat knocked the knives away from her throat, jumped up, still gasping a bit, and renewed her attack on the elf. Kats anger was the only thing that was keeping her from completely being made fool of by Legolas, but it wasn't helping her that much. The sword and knives clashed against one another, dust rose as the two advanced and retreated around the clearing. One of the knives evaded Kat's defense long enough to nick her cheek, leaving a red gash in its wake.  
  
"Legolas!" Aragorn yelled as Kat exclaimed something to the gods in pain, the elf looking like he was about to give her another cut. "She is not your enemy. Your supposed to be helping her learn how to use a sword, not kill her!"  
  
"Sorry." Legolas said, clearly not meaning it. Kat scowled at him, but not for long. Legolas' knives flashed in front of her again and she had to think before she attempted to use her sword to block them. The battle began anew, Kat using every hateful thing Legolas had ever said or done to urge her on. It did little good though, since Legolas still bested her over and over again, and doing so with out any apparent effort. This only enraged Kat further, and with one great cry, she ran head long at him, apparently still not learning anything about simply running at people. Legolas waited for the last possible second and then stepped to the side, leaving the continue running. Kat tried to stop and turn a second to late, then she saw the rock. Kat tried to stop once more, dropping her sword in the effort, and almost succeeded. She would have stopped, if she hadn't tripped. Kat fell into the rock, her head slamming onto the stone with a loud crack. She slumped limply to the ground.  
  
"You killed her!" Pippin shrieked. Legolas stared at Kats lifeless form, convinced she was faking. Boromir vaulted from where he had a death grip on the tree root to Kats side.  
  
"Kat? Kat, wake up love. Kat?!" Boromir rolled Kat over into his arms. Blood trickled down her face from a gash over her eye. Only when Legolas saw the blood did he decide that Kat wasn't faking after all.  
  
A/N: DUN DUN DUN!!!! Cliffhanger!! Woot! Hope you enjoyed! 


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